Police: Reality TV contestant argued with wife hours before alleged killing

Reality contestant fought with wife before killing

BUENA PARK, Calif. — Hours before she died, former model Jasmine Fiore was chatting on her cell phone with an ex-boyfriend — a conversation that police say threw her reality contestant husband into a jealous rage.

Witnesses said Ryan Jenkins argued with Fiore in the lobby of the San Diego Hilton after leaving a poker tournament, telling her “you’re making a fool of me in front of my friends,” said Buena Park police Sgt. Frank Nunes.

The argument was the latest in the couple’s volatile, jealous relationship and just hours before Jenkins allegedly killed his 28-year old wife, stuffed her body into a suitcase and dumped her in a Buena Park trash bin, police said.

A detailed timeline revealed Thursday by police showed that Jenkins, who appeared on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” started a 1,000-mile dash for his native Canada 24 hours after Fiore’s body was found early Aug. 15.

Fiore’s nose was broken, she was badly beaten and she was missing the last digit of all her fingers and her teeth — presumably to hamper efforts to identify her.

Police ultimately learned her name by tracking the serial number on her breast implants, but not until Jenkins had a three-day head start on his escape.

The 32-year-old son of a prominent Calgary architect was found Sunday in an isolated motel in Hope, British Columbia, where he had committed suicide.

Nunes said family and friends told authorities Jenkins and Fiore — who were married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March — had a volatile relationship and had cheated on each other.

“It all boils down to a domestic violence situation that went way out of hand as a result of jealousy,” Nunes said late Thursday.

Court records show Jenkins had a violent past. He was charged in June in Nevada with a misdemeanor count of “battery constituting domestic violence” for allegedly hitting Fiore in the arm. In Calgary, Jenkins had been sentenced to 15 months probation in January 2007 on an unspecified assault charge of his then ex-girlfriend.

“I don’t know the guy but basically… if he doesn’t get his way, and he snaps, stand by: I don’t care that you’re my mate, I am going to get my way whether you like it or not,” Nunes said Friday.

Police said extensive surveillance videos as well as cell phone records, interviews and other evidence — including Fiore’s white 2007 Mercedes-Benz — helped them piece together the gruesome crime.

Inside the car, they found signs of a violent struggle, with swirls of blood on the passenger seat, back seat and rear windshield that indicated she fought for her life. They also found letters in the couple’s penthouse written by Jenkins as if he were Fiore, talking about how he wanted to be treated, Nunes said.

Jenkins moved to Los Angeles earlier this year to pursue an acting career. He met Fiore shortly after he wrapped filming for “Millionaire.”

Police say the fatal flareup apparently began after the couple checked into the luxury boutique hotel L’Auberge Del Mar on Aug. 13 and later headed to the poker tournament.

There, Fiore used her cell phone to speak with Robert Hasman, an ex-boyfriend. Hasman told the “the Today Show” this week that he spoke and exchanged text messages with Fiore and that she said she wanted to come see him in Las Vegas.

“Her last message was: I’m coming,” Hasman said.

Police said the couple left the Hilton after the argument and appeared to make amends.

They returned to the Hilton to pick up their car at about 2:30 am and two hours later Jenkins was seen on surveillance video returning to the L’Auberge alone. He checked out around 9 a.m. without Fiore and without the suitcase in which her body was found.

Police said they believe Fiore was severely beaten in the car after the poker tournament and Jenkins brought her into their first-floor hotel room through a private patio entrance. They believe Jenkins then put Fiore in the suitcase and took it to Fiore’s car.

Police believe Jenkins drove to a point southeast of Los Angeles and may have removed the tips of her fingers and her teeth before dumping her body in Buena Park.

After filing a missing persons report the next day, police say he drove near the Canadian border in Washington where he used his boat and traveled on foot to reach British Columbia.

On Aug. 20, a young woman in a Chrysler PT Cruiser with a license plate from Alberta — Jenkins’ home province — checked him into an isolated motel in Hope, British Columbia. She paid in cash for three nights while Jenkins waited in the car and left after about 20 minutes, motel manager Kevin Walker told The Associated Press.

Police said they have not found any evidence to indicate that anyone in the United States helped Jenkins to flee. Canadian officials say no charges will be filed against anyone who may have helped Jenkins.

Taxin reported from Tustin, Calif. AP writer Jeremy Hainsworth contributed to this report from Vancouver, British Columbia.